Chapter 138: Assion Ceremony (Part Five)

  "Aaaah—"

  Born Battle Maniac roared furiously, stomping the ground to activate Berserk.

  "Die, damn it!"

  His eyes glowed red as he used Flight to leap high into the air, swinging his massive axe toward the airborne vampire.

  Duke Brad sneered ptuously.

  "Such futile struggles."

  The blood mist in the air surged, transf into a giant maw that engulfed Born Battle Maniatirely. His blood was drained dry, leaving only a shriveled husk to fall lifelessly to the ground.

  Just as Born Battle Maniac fell, several wooden arrows shot rapidly toward the vampire's heart.

  "Swish—"

  It turned out Born Battle Maniac had only been a distra, while Singo's heart-pierg arrows were the true attabsp;

  "Crack."

  But the arrows were effortlessly caught by the vampire’s pale hands and snapped in half.

  "Impossible."

  Singo muttered to himself, stunned by the boss's extraordinary strength, both in spellcasting and raw physical power.

  "Pitiful rats."

  Duke Brad’s face twisted into a cruel smile as he said:

  "Once, I was the mightiest general of Aa, riding a giant eagle into battle and quering all before me."

  "Now, I am something far more exalted."

  "And you—"

  "You think you be my oppos?"

  Duke Brad desded slowly, surrounded by swirling blood mist and tless shadowy hands.

  【Vampiric Toubsp;

  Anyone caught by these shadowy hands suffered devastating erosive damage, their lifeforce rapidly drained and absorbed by the vampire to nourish his body.

  "Cleric, heal me!"

  "Give me a Speed Boost!"

  The ander shouted toward Windcloud.

  But before he could finish, a bck tendril rose from the ground, ing around him tightly. His strong body quickly shriveled into another empty husk.

  "I o cast—"

  Before Charlotte could finish her sentence, blood mist enveloped her from behind and ed her entirely.

  Singo, standing at the ptform's edge, notched another arrow to aim at the vampire, but bck tendrils emerged from the ground, dragging him into an endless abyss.

  The pyers scrambled desperately, trying to evade the deadly blood mist and shadowy hands, while Duke Brad leisurely paced atop the stoform.

  "I am the lord of darkness."

  "I am the king of the night."

  "Entering here was the gravest mistake of your lives."

  His raspy voice echoed like a death knell, coldly deg their doom.

  Swarms of bats and rats poured forth from the darkness at his and, attag relentlessly. Some pyers were gruesomely devoured alive by thousands of rats.

  "Sacred Ssh!"

  Medrosh cleaved through a shadowy hand with a swlowihe protective light surrounding him blocked the encroag blood mist.

  Raising his blood-stained greatsword high, he shouted:

  【Oathbreaker's Divine eling: Ma Fear】

  A terrifying magical aura erupted, scattering the approag swarms of bats and rats.

  Medrosh fixed his gaze on the duke, his bde pointing unwaveringly at him.

  "I will kill you, vampire."

  His bck eyes widened with cold fury, burning with vengeful madness. The iy made even Duke Brad hesitate.

  Feigning ption, the duke smirked.

  "Oh? I remember you."

  "The leader of the devil's brood, a pathetic scapegoat."

  "Ah, the wails and cries of your people sted three days and nights, bringing me immense joy. My righteous and brave subjects veheir rage fully, dreng Northwind Fortress with tiefling blood. Even the moat flowed red."

  Duke Brad’s tone was light, as if reting a fond memory.

  "But it wasn’t wasteful. Your people’s deaths were valuable—they secured my ce for this great assion."

  "It was all so perfect. My only regret is letting you escape."

  "But now, that regret will be erased."

  Duke Brad smiled sinisterly, his crimson eyes gleaming with malibsp;

  He relished watg mortals like Medrosh drown in despair and pain. He would extinguish the tiefling’s hope for vengeah his own hands.

  "I will kill you."

  "Kill you!"

  Medrosh pressed forward, hag through tless shadowy tendrils until he stood within teers of the duke.

  His body bore numerous wouing dark mist, the sinister energy greedily ing his lifeforce. But Medrosh’s expression was numb—he seemed unfazed.

  In his mind, he saw his family burning in the fmes, the souls of his fallen kin g out in unison:

  "Kill him."

  Watg the tiefling approach, Duke Brad’s pale face lit with excitement.

  "Yes, that’s it—unyielding will, blind rage, ging to false hope for vengeance."

  "Only to be cast into the abyss by me."

  He licked his lips in anticipation, sav the despair-filled blood he had carefully cultivated.

  "e, kill me, devil’s child."

  "Hahaha, do you seek reveo sy your mortal foe?"

  Duke Brad mogly spread his arms.

  Medrosh charged forward and swung his sword with all his strength, aiming for the vampire’s nebsp;

  The sound of bde meeting flesh echoed.

  Duke Brad did not dodge. He allowed the sword to slice deep into his nebsp;

  Blood spurted violently, spshing onto Medrosh’s fabsp;

  Yet Duke Brad simply gripped the sword’s bde, wreng it free from his neck. As the blood-stained bde was removed, the wound on his neck healed rapidly, leaving no trabsp;

  He toyed with the bloodied sword.

  "Not bad, but you’ll need more strength."

  "Attacks like this ’t kill me—I am immortal."

  Duke Brad smiled, anticipating the familiar look of despair, regret, and terror on Medrosh’s fabsp;

  But Medrosh’s expression remained calm.

  The earlier anger had been a fa?ade.

  The tiefling’s bck eyes focused on the vampire. "Years ago, around seven years, I began p how to kill you."

  "You are powerful, almost without weaknesses."

  "But you are tant, looking down on all mortals—even your enemies."

  "What?"

  The blood-stained greatsword began glowing with intense magical light. Within it was sealed a spell Medrosh had sought for years—a spell capable of ensnaring a vampire:

  【Otto's Irresistible Danbsp;

  Uhe spell’s influence, Duke Brad began swaying, his feet shuffling ically.

  Medrosh dared not rex, knowing the vampire could break free at any moment.

  "Alger!"

  Medrosh shouted.

  From the shadows, Alger, long in hiding, revealed himself at st.

  Gripping a wooden spear soaked in holy water, he dived downward on his giant eagle.

  Alger’s golden, dragon-like eyes burned with vengeanbsp;

  "This ends now!"

  The spear pierced through the vampire’s back, skewering the heart that had long ceased to beat yet radiated endless malevolenbsp;

  The holy water sizzled, burning the vampire’s chest.

  Brad La io the ground by the wooden spear, his head slumping as blood poured from the wound.

  His grotesque dance came to an abrupt halt.

  "Is it over?" Alger asked, gasping.

  "No," Medrosh replied grimly, staring at the vampire’s still form. "Not yet."

  Blood rituals still bound the progeo the duke, and the ptform’s runes pulsed with ominous energy.

  A t vampire progeny burst apart, blood flowing into Brad La.

  Alger desded on his giant eagle, still panting heavily from the tension aement, exhaling sulfurous breath.

  "I’m afraid it’s far from over."

  "Listen."

  Medrosh stared ily at the seemingly lifeless vampire, his brow furrowed and his voice heavy.

  Alger immediately became alert, drawing the Ever-Burning Greatsword from his bad sing his surroundings warily.

  "He is everywhere."

  "Let our blood boil within His body."

  "Let us embrace the grand assion."

  The ting of the vampire progenies tinued, growing ever more sorrowful and harrowing.

  The heavy s still bound them tightly, and the bloodlight tio ect them to Duke Brad. Even the sinister formatioh their feet thrummed with eerie vitality.

  Suddenly, one of the t, corpulent vampire progeop the stone pilr exploded, transf into a mass of filthy, viscous blood.

  Before dying, he murmured, "I will fiernal life within His immortal body!"

  That was Travius La, the duke’s sed son, infamous for his obesity and representing gluttony.

  The blood oozed along the bloodlight and into Brad La’s body, which swelled from gaunt to robust—he had absorbed Travius La’s physical strength.

  At st, the fear Medrosh and Alger dreaded most came true.

  He was revived.

  Or rather, he had ruly died.

  The wooden spear lodged in Brad La’s body quivered.

  A low voice echoed through the bunker.

  "Hahaha."

  "Such immense power."

  "turies of patience have led to this moment."

  The once seemingly lifeless Brad La slowly stood, pulling the spear from his chest.

  As he withdrew the spear, the wound rapidly regeed, sealing pletely by the time the spear was fully removed.

  Having absorbed the assion sacrifices, Brad La no longer had the vampire weakness of "stake to the heart." He had bee an unkilble monster.

  Brad La grinned.

  "Good, this power exceeds my expectations."

  Even as he spoke, Brad La’s body swelled to three meters tall. T er and Medrosh, his crimson eyes gleamed with greed.

  Sniffing the blood in the air, he reized an old subordinate.

  "Oh? It’s you."

  "Alger Yeoman, my most trusted hound. I thought you had perished at Storm Highnds. I inteo make you undead, serving me for eternity. Too bad you missed that opportunity."

  "But you’re just a dog—how dare you bite your master?"

  Alger’s half-dragon face twisted with rage, his golden eyes bzing with fury.

  "Brad La, you destroyed everything I had."

  "I will kill you!"

  Brad La approached unhurriedly, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.

  "So you know?"

  "Poor little creature. I had po reveal the truth after verting you, to savor yony. As, I missed the pleasure of that moment."

  "You!"

  Medrosh severed another shadowy tendril and shouted sternly, "Don’t let him provoke you! Destroy the progenies, or his power will only grow stronger!"

  Alger snapped out of it, mounting his giant eagle.

  But it was too te. Another progeny, a graceful vampire, exploded into vile, viscous blood.

  Before her demise, she moaned, "I will find fulfillment in His eternal desire!"

  That was Liny La, the duke’s sed daughter, symbolizing lust.

  The blood flowed into Brad La, whose crimson eyes now shimmered with a strange aive light, making him the very embodiment of desire—he had absorbed Liny La’s allure.

  Brad La stared at Alger.

  "Your resistance is amusing."

  "Sihat’s the case, let me turn you bato my loyal hound, Alger."

  His crimson eyes gleamed with bewitg magical light.

  【Dominate Human】

  "No!"

  Alger roared in defianbsp;

  He shut his eyes tightly, trying to resist the spell.

  Despite his unyielding will, he succumbed to the spell imbued with the sin of lust. Alger once again became Brad La’s puppet, a marioe under his trol.

  "Die!"

  Alger’s eyes went bnk as he swung the Ever-Burning Greatsword at Medrosh.

  onless, Medrosh could only dodge desperately, sustaining injuries under Alger’s expert swordsmanship. His expression grew mrave.

  "This ’t go on."

  "But the master will arrive soon."

  Medrosh clutched a shattered crimson crystal, brag for what was to e.

  FAL